Firebird – King’s Head Theatre

Walker’s portrayal of Sergey is strong, but somewhat lacks the power and palpable energy that should teeter between desperation and hunger for connection with Roman, played by Eades. Most famous for his content creation on social media, Walker has an immense amount of skill and an electrifying quality to his online work, but in Firebird, his performance slightly misses the balance between vulnerability and aggression. However, at the times he is afforded the opportunity to present heightened emotion, the crescendo of his acting skill is brilliant and he avoids the pitfall of it verging on melodramatic.

Eades, gives a commendable yet slightly muted performance, and the interplay between his and Walker’s characters longs for a little more contrast. His character’s struggles with identity and desire do not always feel truthful enough. Roman’s character is desperate for some volatility, both in voice and physical delivery. He is a man wrestling with guilt, longing, and fear, and Eades often plays this inner conflict too delicately. The show’s director should have encouraged his actor to take more risks and truly immerse himself into the role’s personal conflict: this is someone who is utterly torn between his head and his heart, together with the gravity of his homosexual behaviours during that period of history.

There are, however, times when the delicate, more subdued nature of his performance is beautiful to watch, and the physical and emotional passions between the two actors during the ‘man-on-man’ scenes of some nudity are undeniably honest and passionate. It is these moments of connection which lends credibility to their characters’ love for each other.

The intimate space of the King’s Head Theatre works to amplify the emotional intimacy of the piece, and the minimalist set design, just a few pieces of furniture and clever, well-designed lighting, underscores the rawness of the characters’ journey in 1970’s Soviet Estonia and later in the play, Moscow. Lighting, designed by Clancy Flynn, is used cleverly and effectively to emphasise the shifting scenes. Jac Cooper‘s sound design, though sparse, punctuates moments of heightened emotion and serves to accentuate the tension in key scenes.